Games with the best writing

[Scotty_ffgamer]

As much as I love Final Fantasy, there can be a lot of bad writing at times. That will be something I touch on a bit, though, simply because the series was one of the things that got me into writing in the first place. They helped inspire me to want to create stories.

[theundeadhero]

OH man, Alan Wake was amazing. I bought it because I used to talk to the girl at Gamestop a lot and she recommended it. I never regretted it.

[Laddy]

Torment, Baldur's Gate, Fallout.

Go home.

[Loony BoB]

The Longest Journey and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. I haven't played them for a while (I really should, but I'm waiting for Dreamfall: Chapters to be almost-released) but I distinctly remember them having the best storytelling I can recall in any game I've played. It's got voice acting and whatnot but even that was done well. It's no shock that the producer/writer/director of these games, Ragnar Tørnquist, is highly regarded in the gaming industry as an author as well as a game designer. He went to Oxford and has studied art, history, English and philosophy which I think has benefited him greatly.

Evidence!

The Longest Journey was well received by the gaming press. GameSpot called it "one of the best adventure games in years" and applauded the "complex and interesting story" although found the ending lacking as "the epilogue does little to wrap everything up". IGN said the game "actually reinvents how stories can be told in the medium" and noticed the mature content, including "harsh subject matter, and some big time swearing". Some of the puzzles were described as "inane", but on the whole the game "hones the genre into its tightest, sharpest form yet". The US edition of PC Gamer praised the "mature and magical" story, the "sumptuous" graphics, and the game's puzzles. The only criticism levied by the magazine was that some parts of the game might be "too edgy" for younger players. The Longest Journey subsequently won the Adventure Game of the Year award by both gaming sites. By mid-2002, the game had sold 450,000 copies.

Most critics have been positive about Dreamfall, agreeing about the quality of the storyline, the graphical presentation and the voice acting. Some critics lament the shortness of the gameplay, and criticize the game's new combat and stealth elements as simplistic and unsatisfying.

GameSpy rated it as "outstanding":

The game covers a lot of metaphorical, political, and religious ground. It's a multi-threaded, complex affair that poses profound and troubling questions about the uses and misuses of faith, the limits of corporate, governmental, and religious power, and the significant difference between belief and fanaticism and knowledge and wisdom. More than that, though, it's also a rip-roaring adventure story filled with wonderful dialogue brought to life by a stellar cast of voice actors, clearly defined and supremely likeable characters, and graphic splendor that manages to make both worlds of super-science and bizarre magic incredibly believable.

It's been a long-time [sic] since The Longest Journey was released, with fans of the game wondering whether a sequel could possibly match the original. They need wonder no longer. Dreamfall is an amazing journey that propels players into a world where science, magic, art, and music combine to make a whole much greater than the sum of its parts.

GameSpot also ranked it as "great," stating "Dreamfall does not disappoint, for the most part. It exhibits the unique attention to detail and terrific presentation that made The Longest Journey so remarkable for its time."

Adventure Classic Gaming said "It is contemporary interactive fiction at its best. Its unique blend of storytelling and gameplay should appeal to a broad range of gamers beyond those who are loyal to the adventure genre.

Other critics, while not disputing the quality of the story, were disappointed that the game is primarily story-driven, and would like to have seen more gameplay. For example, IGN said:

While playing through, it's difficult to shake the impression that intelligent design was given a back seat to painfully simplistic fighting and sneaking sequences. The combat is, for all intents and purposes, a total joke. [...] While the gameplay has been drastically simplified, the story remains as engaging as ever. Characters engage in deep conversation, revealing all sorts of nuance and helping to strengthen this game's unique mood. Be warned, if you don't like watching lengthy conversations or if you generally disregard a game's plot, you'll be absolutely dissatisfied with Dreamfall. However, if you're in the mood for one of gaming's best and most recent narratives, by all means pick this one up. Just be aware that Dreamfall's appeal lies largely in its narrative and characters, and not in the gameplay."

[NeoCracker]

Yeah, I think Last of Us can now be pretty unanimously added to the list of games with the best writing.

[Slothy]

Agreed NeoCracker. It's interesting to look back at Naughty Dog, even just from Uncharted to The Last of Us, never mind the PS2 and PSX eras, and see how much their storytelling ability has changed and, in my opinion, matured tremendously.

[Loony BoB]

You didn't like the epic storytelling found in Crash Bandicoot?

[Slothy]

I never played them back then to be honest. I wasn't as into 3D platformers that weren't Mario 64 at the time for some reason. My PSX saw the most use from Final Fantasy games and Metal Gear Solid.

[Hollycat]

The Walking dead would be at or near the top of the list. It was almost art just from the story.
Crisis core has some pretty good writing.
Jak 2 was well written.
Persona 3 was extremely good.
Persona 4 has a damn near perfect story, it should be on every list.
If you look at it closely, gravity rush, despite having probably less than 1500 words of script has a very nice tight story, considering what it is.
Final Fantasy tactics and Final fantasy 9 were very well written.
Kingdom hearts until you get to the convoluted DDD arc.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I should play Gravity Rush again since it is pretty short. It is definitely one of my favorite games I've played in recent memory. I'm sure the writing had something to do with that.

[Pike]

The Walking Dead really is getting better and better the more I play. Some top-notch writing there.

[Forsaken Lover]

What did I win? This is the only right answer.

The Legacy of Kain games tell a winding, twisting story full of time travel and paradoxes but it's all so expertly discussed that it feels natural. There are definitely games with better plots out there but actual writing as in dialog and character interaction, you'll be hard pressed to find one better than LOK.

A friend once asked me about Xenogears or LOK, which did I prefer. Xenogeas was more ambitious and had a more compelling narrative but the writing along the way didn't hold a candle to the eloquent masterpiece that is LOK's script.

[Dr. rydrum2112]

Star Ocean series has some really quality writing.

Lunar 2.

[krissy]

TYPING OF THE DEAD

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Typing of the Dead wins. There is no other correct answer.